Rating: Liked a good deal.Did I finish?: I did, in a matter of hours!One-sentence summary: The interconnected stories of an American couple, an expat architect and his photographer son, children who love and fear their fathers, the beauty of Japan, and the impact of World War II on them all.Reading Challenges:7 Continents, 7 Billion People, 7 Books, E-books, Historical Fiction

Do I like the cover?: I do, very much -- the black-and-white photograph is reminiscent of a photographer character, and I'm rather grateful the cover is slightly more upbeat that some of the action!

I'm reminded of...: Jennifer Haigh, Ursula Hegi

First line: The climb felt almost arduous, the engine juddering and restarting four times during the creaking ascent up the Ferris wheel.

Buy, Borrow, or Avoid?: Borrow or buy, especially if you're a fan of Japan, World War II fiction, or complicated characters who are lovely and awful.

Why did I get this book?: I'm drawn to World War II narratives that aren't wholly from a US or British viewpoint and this one intrigued me.

Review: Historical fiction set during wartime is a favorite genre of mine (or, I suppose, a 'favorite' -- I'm not a fan of war) because there's a real focus on the ordinary, everyday people against a massive canvas. Jennifer Cody Epstein's novel represents what I most love about this genre: it's illuminating and educational without being cold, it's emotional in ways both familiar and alien, and it offers the reader a place to see herself in a situation she, hopefully, will never experience.

Set between 1935 and 1962, The Gods of Heavenly Punishment shifts between Japan and the US and follows a handful of people loosely connected by their pre-war lives in Japan (or, in one case, the US). Written in a vignette style, each chapter opens with a location and date, often jumping years ahead of the previous chapter. Epstein's skill is seen in that the narrative never felt rushed nor choppy, and the characters indeed changed during the unseen time.

There's Anton, a Czech expat and brilliant architect who loves Japan but betrays his soul's home to help the US war effort and his son Bobby, a sensitive photographer with his own secrets; Kenji, Anton's Japanese best friend and colleague, a visionary for Japan during the war; Hana, his beautiful but resentful wife and their daughter Yoshi, who witnesses betrayal, crime, and the horrific bombing of Tokyo. There's a young American pilot who joins 'Doolittle's Raiders', his smart wife and devoted younger brother.

Delightfully and disturbingly, Epstein's characters are human, warm and flawed. I liked Kenji despite myself - and his cruelties - just as I adored broken Hana. There wasn't a particular 'villain', per se, as most everyone was articulated in shades of gray. The descriptions of time and place put me immediately into the story, and I couldn't put this book down. The tension comes from needing to know who survives and at what cost; from the meager hope more than one ends up happy.

Refreshingly, the novel's focus on Japan and sympathy for the Japanese makes this an appealing read. While portraying atrocities on both sides, Epstein also evokes very complicated characters who hate and love their homelands, adopted or otherwise, who are selfish and selfless, who represent the innumerable dead.

While WWII is oft covered territory in historical fiction, I found Epstein's focus on Japan and the 1945 bombing of Tokyo to be fascinating (albeit horrifying). Much like one of the viewers at a photo exhibition, I assumed Tokyo was 'just bombed' but the reality is far more devastating (it was the deadliest raid of World War II, in fact).

I was strongly reminded of Jennifer Haigh's Baker Towers and Ursula Hegi's Floating in My Mother's Palm, both books I loved. This was a zippy read -- I finished it in a few hours -- but one that will linger with me. Highly recommended, especially for those who enjoy World War II narratives or are interested in Japan.

*** *** ***

GIVEAWAY!

I'm thrilled to offer THREE readers a copy of The Gods of Heavenly Punishment! To enter, fill out this brief form. Open to US/Canadian readers, ends 10/4.

Be sure to check out my interview with Jennifer Cody Epstein tomorrow for another chance to enter!

I am enjoying coming back to your blog to scope out the next book your reading & recommending!! I stopped by last week or the week before originally, I believe for Queen's Gambit! I murmur your thoughts on this section of literature,... I am drawn into war stories myself, especially those stories that etch into the heart of the two couples struggling to keep their connection & make sense of everything that is happening around them. I don't believe everyone who reads this part of literature is necessarily advocating for war, rather instead, they are appreciative of the stories that speak to the human heart and the bond that threads through us all!

I liked how you expressed the book unique style of settling the story into your mind and leaving it there a bit wantonly afterwards! You gave me the impression that the characters I'd find inside will stir my heart and leave me museful after I encounter them! Always an inclination I am in search of!

This is one book I found awhile ago, and am happy to see its receiving a warm reception! Its been on my TBR List in other words!

I agree -- I've read some books set in Malaysia or Hong Kong during that time, but not Japan -- nor featuring Japanese characters -- and it was really quite a revelation. I'm not always in the mood for WWII fic but this one was fabu.

Have you ever tried any high fantasy? I actually like high fantasy for much the same reason you mention liking wartime historical fiction. The mix of individuals and epic events is very cool! Obviously you lose some realism when you transition to the fantasy genre, so you might not like it as well, but you also might :)

This book sounds wonderful...I like the time period and the setting but, especially, the characters because they sound like a really interesting diverse of flawed, real people (my favorite kind). I'm not as ardent a fan of historical fiction as you are but I do love novels set during wartime...it's not the war that draws me, of course, it's the way people behave, come together and also I like to read about how our country and others 'behaved' during the war...do you know what I mean? Anyway, this was a great review that I thoroughly enjoyed Thanks, Audra!

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Ten of my 33 reads were by authors of color. Six of my 33 reads were penned by male-identified authors. Nine reads were not novels: one play, three volumes of poetry, two memoirs, two collections of essays, and a graphic novel.

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It looks like I've read 33 books this year, which is five less than last year. But given the crazy amounts of stress and drama that hit me in 2018, I'm frankly delighted with this count.

Ten of my 33 reads were by authors of color. Six of my 33 reads were penned by male-identified authors. Nine reads were not novels: one play, three volumes of poetry, two memoirs, two collections of essays, and a graphic novel.

I achieved a wopping zero on reading challenges, which I aim to change in 2019. Mostly by committing myself to two (Read Harder and Historical Fiction) and really diversifying my reading. And reading more, you know, than I had this year. (Re-frame: This year I knit 8 items, which is a 2000% improvement over other years. So, small perk of reading less!)

The Historical Fiction Reading Challenge is my favorite challenge of the year! (Although it's really not a challenge for me to read historical fiction, so I mostly use this "challenge" to make myself feel great.)

Since I've been diversifying my reading the last year or two, I'm not reading as much historical fiction as I have, so I'm not going to aim for the 50+ designation this year. I'm going to go for 'Ancient History - 25' books.

Some historical novels I'm hoping to read in 2019 include Nisi Shawl's Everfair, anything by Cat Sebastian that I haven't read yet (so maybe any 2019 releases, I think...!), Stephanie Thornton's upcoming release, American Princess, and Madeline Miller's Circe, which I didn't get to this year.

This weekend I won't be reading since my family will be attending the New Bedford Whaling Museum's annual Moby Dick Marathon, a weekend event where passionate fans read Moby Dick aloud.

Moby Dick is my wife's all time favorite book so when we discovered this event, it immediately became an annual affair for us. This is our fifth year going, and my wife is an official reader for her second year in a row. She's very excited.

I'm not a Moby Dick fan but I do love geeks, and it's impossible not to enjoy this when surrounded by passionate fans. The read happens at the museum, which only enhances the story, and there are all kinds of fun nods to the story -- there's a celebrity Ishmael to open the reading every year, the mayor reads the section of Ishmael walking thru Bedford, and the worship scene happens at the Seaman's Bethel, etc.

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